Dramatical New Years

From the Past, Moving Forward (Mink)

I slid across the smooth wood floor in my socks, hurriedly trying to fix some food before Mink arrived back home. Mink always asked me why he wore my stupid socks and leg warmers, but I thought they were stylish and Mink was just a mean old man as far as I was concerned. Plus, they allowed me to slide across the floor.

I was in the middle of sliding from one end of the kitchen to the other when I heard the front door slam. I was so surprised, I lost my footing and fell, landing directly on my butt.

A second later, Mink was in the doorway from the living room.

“I fell,” I explained, blushing a little.

“I can see that,” He sighed.

He held his hand out and helped me up.

“You’re home earlier than I expected,” I said, dusting the back of my pants off.

Mink raised his eyebrows at the mess on the counter.

“Obviously,” He crossed his arms, “I got off early.”

I turned a little and looked at the counter. It was a bigger mess than I thought it was.

“Oh, this? I was cooking. I guess I got carried away. I was trying to finish before you got back. Sorry.”

I frowned slightly and sighed.

Mink cracked a smile and looked away, letting his arms fall at his sides.

“It’s okay, just help me clean up.”

I grinned and nodded, twirling on my heels and moving to the counter to clean things up. Mink joined me and I finished cooking and then we cleaned the kitchen in silence. It was a comfortable silence though.

Things had been very happy since he accepted me. I didn’t feel insecure around him as much anymore. Only the normal things, like when I messed up. Mink was surprisingly patient. He never really got mad anymore… just aggravated with me. It’s understandable. I can be dumb at times.

Actually, after spending all this time together, I’ve found that Mink is kind of nerd. Whenever he was here and we weren’t doing anything in particular he would read the most nerdy books. He only read fantasy novels, as far as I knew. Stories about werewolves and fairies and the like. It was so surprising that it felt kind of like my own personal secret that I shared with Mink.

“What was all of this mess for? New Years Eve?” Mink asked quietly, turning off the sink and drying his hands.

My head snaps up at the words. I’d completely forgotten about New Years. I knew it was coming, but I’d lost track of the days. Now it was the day before New Years Eve and I wasn’t prepared for tomorrow. I had no idea what I was even going to do for New Years.

“Oh, damn! I forgot all about New Years!” I nearly yelled.

Mink looked up with some surprise and put his hands on his hips.

“Do you celebrate for New Years?”

I thought for a moment, “Well, kind of. Sometimes there are parties, but for the last couple of years, Gran and I just cleaned the house and had a dinner. But now…”

I felt a slight pang in my heart. I missed Granny. I called her two or three times a week to check up on her, but it still felt like forever since I’ve talked to her.

“I don’t know what you do here in America. I imagine it’s probably not so much different, but I still don’t know. What did you do?”

Mink just kind of shrugged at me.